Of Orange and Crimson
by BreadCrumble
Summary: A collection of Ara x Elesis one-shots. All will be rated T for slight swearing and little amounts of suggestive material.
1. Christmas Punishment

_**BreadCrumble used revive! It's super effective.**_

_**[EDIT 1: Due to an anonymous person's request, I will continue to make Ara x Elesis oneshots. Each oneshot is not related to each other, storywise. Prepare for sporadic updates every month or so.]**_

**Hi everyone, I'm back. As a treat, I decided to make a Christmas oneshot for the Elsword fandom. There is a great lack of stories for one of my favorite ships (Ara x Elesis). Yes I know, it's yuri/girl's love or whatever you want to call it. **

**Read on if you are okay with yuri. Warning: Some fluff ahead.**

* * *

**Title: **Christmas Punishment

**Summary: **Christmas-themed one-shot!

The yearly Winter Eltide ball is just around the corner. But who does a certain Sakra Devanam decide to spend her time with?

**Character info: **Everyone's in their first path (LK, EM, GM, SD etc)

* * *

"A-Aisha… will you g-go to the…" Elsword stammered and hurriedly brought out a bouquet of daisies from behind him. Seeing that the mage accepted the flowers and continued staring at him, his ears began turning as red as his hair. The whole clearing, also known as Rena's personal garden, was completely still and quiet. However, the knight felt as if he were in the middle of a storm due to his own heart's erratic beating.

Elsword would have preferred fighting a horde of demons than asking Aisha out. He believed that the former was the lesser evil. It wasn't that he didn't like Aisha. The Lord Knight just didn't appreciate the suspense of hearing the Elemental Master's answer.

"Go to the what?" Aisha questioned, raising an eyebrow. This snapped the boy out of his thoughts. She already knew that Elsword was going to ask her to the yearly Winter Eltide Ball in Elder. Smirk growing wider, she just wanted to see how he would fare in the ordeal of asking her out. "Erm, to the ball," He muttered, barely audible. It took him a second to shout next: "I meant the Christmas Ball! Ballroom! Dance… thing-"

The red head was cut mid-sentence when he felt a pair of warm lips on his left cheek. It only lasted a second, but to him, it felt like an eternity. He heard a muffled giggle from the girl when she had backed away. Elsword blankly stared at the purple-haired mage and could have sworn that he saw a tinge of pink on her face. "Of course I'd go!" she said, "if it's with you," she added as she replaced her smirk with her signature cheerful smile, the same smile that made Elsword's heart flutter. He felt his head going light.

"Kudos, Els!" Was all that was needed to break Elsword from his reverie. Raven and Chung had been hiding in the bushes of the massive garden. "So this is why you told me to stay away from the garden today," Rena dropped down from one of the trees and landed perfectly on the grass below. "Boring. Should've added more dynamics in your moves, Elboy." Add yawned as he levitated away from his hiding place. The spies crowded around the duo, chattering away and congratulating Elsword and Aisha. A fifth observer simply smiled and turned her back at the scene.

"You've really grown, Elsword," Elesis closed her eyes as she said this. She had been watching the whole thing from the entryway of the garden. No one had noticed the crimsonette there. She stifled a chuckle, hearing Elsword's gasps from being bear-hugged by Rena. As she turned and paced away from the garden, the Grand Master nearly fell backwards when she bumped into someone. Elesis recoiled a bit at the sudden contact. "You have been staring for quite a while, why do you not join them?" Eve had asked her, brushing away the imaginary dirt on her clothes. Elesis let out a sigh, realizing that it was just the Nasod queen. "Ah, I only came here to check on Elsword," Elesis explained, rubbing the back of her head. "Gotta run, still have a lot of papers to work on." The silent nasod nodded and flipped a stray lock of silver hair from her face. The knight sighed once more before biding the Code: Nemesis farewell.

* * *

As she climbed to the second floor of the Elrios Team's mansion, Elesis let out a groan. "Bumping into Eve really does feel like getting hit by a train. Didn't know nasods were this heavy-" Her grumbles were interrupted by a certain ebonette. She caught sight of the 20-year old girl at the end of the corridor. Ara seemed lost.

"This is bad! I think I'm late for Elsword's proposal," she scratched her head and closed her eyes, trying to think. "Now which way was the garden again," Ara asked herself, forcing her brain cells to function. She was so lost in her thoughts to the point that she didn't notice the red knight behind her.

"I'm surprised at how you don't trip on your coattails, considering your clumsiness is far worse than Elsword's," Elesis chuckled. Ara jumped a foot high and faced the other girl. Elesis didn't bother concealing her amusement. "Oh, Elesis! Did you need something? Your meals perhaps?" Ara inquired, recovering from the initial surprise. "_My meals? What,"_ Elesis thought. "Oh right."

For the past few days, even though the El Search Party was granted a temporary hiatus for the winter season, Velder headquarters has not been very merciful to their Red Knight leader. The Elrios Team was on a break, but demon invasions weren't. Elesis, as the leader of the Red Knights, was tasked to deploy soldiers, give commands to her troops and formulate plans of action in the battlefield. The good news was that she didn't need to stay in the frontlines of the war itself. But the paperwork and strategizing was enough to keep the Grand Master holed up in her room for almost the whole week.

This consequently led to Ara – being concerned for her team mate – in making sure that Elesis doesn't forget to look after her well-being. Eating on time was number one on the list of "looking after yourself", according to said girl. Although no one dictated her to do such, the Sakra Devanam took it upon herself to bring the Grand Master's food to her room during meal times. Elesis, at first surprised by this kind action, didn't object. She would thank the concerned girl, bade Ara to go back to her business, and eat in peace.

Unknown to her is that Ara would linger behind and watch over the girl, making sure that the Red Knight would finish her meal.

* * *

Shaking her head slightly at the fond recollection, Elesis gestured that she didn't need anything from the Sakra Devanam at the moment. "So why are you outside your room?" Ara tilted her head like a curious child.

A silence ensued.

Elesis averted her gaze from the older girl, realizing that she was caught staring. "_Looks like Chung's pawprint eyes have a rival in the cuteness division_," Elesis mused. "I just checked if Elsword was doing his proposal right," the red head said as she stared at anywhere that wasn't Ara's face. "W-What?! So it's over?" Ara deflated and facepalmed. "Hey, don't feel that bad. Elsword was awesome back there," Elesis continued. The spear-wielder let her arms drop down, only for Elesis to behold a pouting Ara. The red head smirked, trying to contain herself from doing anything to the ebonette that she would regret. "Something wrong? Why do you seem so crushed? It's just my brother's proposal to his date," Elesis steadied her voice, trying to hide any hints of what she truly feels.

"Well, I wasn't able to see how Raven asked Rena out," Ara countered, making eye contact with the red-head. "So I was hoping that I'd be able to get some first-hand experience and tips if I saw Elsword's proposal to Aisha."

Elesis didn't know how to process this information. It wasn't that she didn't comprehend or mishear. The red head girl felt a sickening feeling on her stomach, an unknown feeling to her. She thought of delving deeper into the topic, in order to verify her hypothesis.

"So basically, you're going to ask someone out?"

Elesis eyed Ara from head to toe when she asked such. Trying to keep her face stoic, she noted every movement and change in the Sakra Devanam. Ara's cheeks instantly pinked and her eyes grew wider after Elesis had said the last word in her question. "A-ah… I do have someone in mind… that I w-would-" Ara quivered and started to shiver in uneasiness from the interrogation. Her mind went blank. As much as Elesis enjoyed teasing the taller girl, she followed up with a different question - in the hopes to save the girl in front of her from embarrassment.

"You do know that it's the guy who asks the girl out?"

"Eh?"

"Don't tell me you've never seen a real-life pro-" Elesis caught herself, realizing that Ara barely had any contact with the outside world thanks to her duty as guardian of the Haan family. Why else was Ara so persistent on seeing Elsword's proposal? "Right, right," she waved it off.

Elesis was still unsatisfied with their current conversation. Another follow up came.

"So who's the lucky bastard getting asked out?"

"By who?"

Her voice dripping with slight irritation, she continued, "By _you_."

"E-eeh?!" Ara's eyes seemed to have turned into two giant white circles. A second awkward silence prevailed. "H-He's not a l-lucky guy at all!" She finally said with great difficulty. The spear-wielder trembled evidently from both embarrassment and nervousness – a habit that she never got rid since her Little Xia days.

"Hey, relax Ara," Elesis calmly said, gently ruffling the older girl's hair. It didn't help how Ara was an inch taller than Elesis, so reaching the taller girl's head was harder than expected for the red head. "Sorry for the sudden interrogation. I didn't think it would scare you that badly." Ara stopped her fidgeting and stared down at the Grand Master. A warm and fuzzy feeling swelled on her chest. Her initial worries were forgotten. Gathering up the courage, she managed to utter a feeble "Elesis…"

"Eitherways, I have to get back to work. Demons don't celebrate winter breaks or night curfews, apparently," Elesis joked; she obviously didn't hear Ara's mumble. "Didn't know you enjoyed rubs like this," She gave another pat on Ara's head, chuckling in the process. The Sakra Devanam pouted; trying to shove the claymore-bearer's gloved hand away. "I'm not a little child!" Ara grumbled, much to Elesis' surprise. "Eh? But you act the part, despite you being the older one," Elesis smiled playfully while Ara pried away from Elesis. "Y-you don't get it," and with her back turned, Ara bolted off with her inhuman speed.

Elesis' hand was left hanging mid-air as the older girl's back became smaller and smaller in the distance. "What's up with that," she shrugged and continued pacing back to her room, dismissing any other thoughts.

Once she was sure that Elesis was out of earshot, Ara let out a loud sigh.

"_You're just as dense as your claymore._"

* * *

A week has passed since the whole Elsword-Aisha affair. To say that not much has changed in the El Search Party is an understatement.

On the day before the dance, the girls were frantic about what make-up to wear or what dress to buy. Eve, after being asked out by Chung, even held last minute lessons for the girls on how to act like a proper lady. Raven trained Chung and Elsword to become gentlemen to their dates.

The three newest members of the Elrios team opted not to attend these.

And the three of them had a good reason why.

On that day, Elesis was returning from a meeting with Lowe at the Ruben Grand Hall. "Ugh… at this rate they're bound to throw me into the middle of the war itself," she grumbled. "Goddamit, Vanessa." She cursed inwardly as she paced through the corridors.

As she was passing through the hallways, she heard faint voices of people.

"_Add and Ara, huh._" Elesis checked the time of the day through the open window. "_There's still time before sunset. I have time for this."_

"Ara, you're making a big mistake here." A hoarse voice, obviously Add's

"Add, I'm sure of my decision."

"Are you sure? No taking it back. Going once."

"Yes, Add. You don't need to count up to a million."

Elesis' eyes widened when she saw Add wrap his arms around Ara. She felt her insides were turning into QPL jelly. Her chest felt constricted. What was this feeling? It felt both unknown but at the same time familiar. This sickening vibe has resurfaced for a second time. The knight couldn't bear the sensation and decided to retreat from the scene. She felt as if her legs moved on its own and brought her back to her to her quarters as quickly as possible.

Once Elesis realized that she was in the solace of her room, she allowed something that she promised never to do in front of anybody.

A single tear found its way down her cheek.

* * *

"Alright! Elder ball, here we come!" Elsword shouted with glee as he exited the mansion with Aisha's arm clung to his. "That's what he said," snickered Add. "You're so noisy, Elsword! You phrase your words badly too," complained Aisha.

"If you two lovebirds are done complaining, let's go already," Raven called for them from the driver's seat in the carriage. Rena smirked mischievously at the knight and mage. Elsword pinked at Raven's comment and grabbed Aisha by the hand; dragging his date from the doorway to the road. A taller red-head stopped him on his tracks.

"Elsword!"

"W-wah… noona?"

"Elsword, you better treat her like a true princess, got that?" Elesis approached the two, blocking the couple's path to the carriage.

"Yeah, noona. I got it, I got it," Elsword groaned at his sister's last minute sermon. He did a double take. "Noona, your eyes are red. Not enough sleep?"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, we both have crimson eyes," Elesis replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious! Don't stress yourself too much, noona. You can hurdle these stressful times through!"

Elesis released a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, don't worry about me. It'll come to pass," she grimaced and glared at Add who was about to board the carriage.

"Oh? And where's _your_ date?" Elesis dryly asked.

"What?"

"I meant… Ara. You know, about as tall as me, black hair, golden eyes-"

"Huh? I got busted by her the other day," he casually shrugged.

"Eh?"

Elesis stared at Add bemusedly. She sought for an answer from someone and looked at Raven. Raven simply nodded, signaling that Add was telling the truth.

"Reddie, I'm going stag, if you haven't noticed."

"O-oh," Elesis sheepishly said, her pride feeling wounded. "I must've been mistaken." Fearing that the El Search Party might think that something was up, she changed the topic.

"Raven! Keep an eye on Elsword, okay?" Elesis signaled to Raven. "Make sure he doesn't impregnate Aisha or something!" As if on cue, the duo, red to the ears tackled Elesis who side-stepped away from the couple. The Blade Master silently chuckled and gave a thumbs up while Chung called out from the window seat. "Els! Aisha! We're going to be late. Get your faces here!"

"Stop shouting, your cacophony is a bane to my hearing," Eve massaged her temples while mumbling something about how Chung was able to persuade her to be dates.

"Ah," Chung reclined back on his seat, and gently caressed the queen's hand. "Sorry about that, Eve," he smiled cheekily at the nasod. This earned him a rare sight of a blushing Eve.

Elesis laughed while brushing the nonexistent dirt off her clothes. "_Those two can really pack a punch_." She mused at the thought of Elsword and Aisha being a real wed-couple. "_Wouldn't be against it, if ever_."

"Noona, take care of yourself."

The Red Knight was brought back into reality at hearing her younger brother's voice.

"No need to tell me that."

"And make sure that the mansion doesn't catch fire while we're gone!" Aisha called out, making a reference at the time when Elesis could conjure firebolts before becoming an official Velder knight.

"That was a long time ago! Hey, don't laugh, Rena… Eve!" Elesis complained, seeing the two girls giggling at Aisha's statement.

"If ever, Ara could tame her fire," Add interjected.

Elesis, dumbfound at Add's joke, felt a rush of blood up her face. Everyone continued to laugh but the long-haired knight tried to keep herself from screaming. She wanted the spotlight to be diverted from her already. She gestured to Raven to start going already, but to no avail. She sighed silently before saying: "I'll set this carriage on fire if you aren't out of the driveway in three seconds!"

* * *

Never has Elesis seen a carriage carrying seven people move that fast. Letting out a sigh of relief, she reentered the mansion. Strangely, Elesis felt a giant weight lifted off from her back.

* * *

Nighttime had come and the moon shone brightly in contrast to the pitch black sky. Even though it was winter season, it rarely snowed in Ruben. Although there was a lack of snow, it didn't mean that there would be an absence in chilly winds. However, Elesis ignored these frigid breezes. She had become fully engrossed with the battle strategy that she was formulating. There were so many letters and written orders littered on her desk that she had to use her bed as her spot for strategizing. The red head was really absorbed in drafting out plans that she failed to hear a tray of food being placed on the bedside table.

It was her turn to be surprised by a certain Sakra Devanam.

"Very elaborate plans, as expected!"

Elesis jerked her head swiftly, effectively head-butting Ara squarely on the forehead. "O-oww," Ara reeled backwards and landed flat on her back. The Red Knight, quick on her feet, extended her hand to the fallen girl. "I apologize. I didn't see you enter," Elesis bashfully said, helping the girl up to the side of the bed. Taking the girl's hand, Ara was about to apologize as well but upon contact with Elesis' bare hand, she froze – both in a figurative and slightly literal manner.

"Your hand is cold."

"Oh, I don't wear my gloves while writing. It gets in the way."

"No, really, it feels like it'll frostbite!"

"Nonsense, we aren't in Avalanche's hell-hole. I'll be fine." Elesis steadied her voice, trying not to hyperventilate from this prolonged contact with Ara.

Ara ignored Elesis' protests and reached for the tray that she brought in. It contained Elesis' dinner and another plate and set of utensils.

"Why are there two? Hey, I don't eat _that_ much."

"The other dinner is for me," smiled Ara. "I thought it was lonely of you to eat dinner by yourself for the past few weeks." Ara looked her in the eye before continuing, "Mind if I join, just this once?"

"Ah. N-not at all. One rule, just don't get anything wet or messy on the papers."

"No problem. As Add would say, 'that's what she said'!"

The red head stammered incoherent lines at the ebonette's retort. To ease the other girl, Ara brought a warm mug to one of Elesis' hands. "It's hot cocoa. Rena seems to always come up with something new and tasty." The ebonette let out a giggle.

"What was that for?" Elesis questioned, taking note of the other girl's sudden laugh.

"I just realized, we've been holding hands the whole time."

Elesis instantly blushed at Ara's innocent comment. She didn't let go but only held tighter, much to Ara's surprise.

* * *

To get her mind off the girl sitting next to her, Elesis continued to write out her battle plans with her free hand. The Grand Master busied herself with work, and failed to notice that the Sakra Devanam had positioned herself in such a close proximity to the red head. Ara brushed away a stray red strand of hair from Elesis' ear and whispered: "Your cocoa's going to get cold."

If Elesis were a pyro knight, she would have set her room on fire.

"D-D-Don't do that!" Elesis half-screamed and half-pleaded. Ara could've sworn that the knight was turning even redder than the latter's hair. "S-seriously… that was uncalled for," she added. "I don't want you to starve and go cold," Ara reasoned. "Just one sip," she smiled.

Elesis recovered from her outburst. She eyed the brown mixture in the mug. She didn't trust the color.

"Please?"

That settled it.

The Velder knight eyed Ara, who was just nodding in approval. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes and tipped the mug over until she felt the liquid wet her lips. It hadn't been a second when Elesis pulled the mug away and started coughing her lungs out. Incoherently, she started shouting about how her throat is burning.

Figures, the cocoa was heated from Rena's brewer that was set to be as hot as Sander's deserts.

Ara panicked and grasped Elesis' hands to keep the squirming girl in place. The spear-wielder scanned the tray and mentally facepalmed. She had forgotten to bring a glass of water. She glanced at Elesis, who was pained and sweating, and made up her mind.

Without a second thought Ara held the back of Elesis' head and quickly pressed her lips against hers.

The whole world was pitch dark to the red head, but her eyes flew open at the foreign substance on her tongue. It wasn't just the excruciatingly hot cocoa there but something else invaded her mouth. "_Someone's lips?_" Her eyes grew even wider when she realized to whom those belonged to. Elesis tried to open her mouth to protest, leading to some hot chocolate to leak out of her mouth, causing her to shut it again and go with the flow. It only lasted for about half a minute, but it seemed as if time stopped for the two.

Ara was the first to break away, catching her breath. Her mouth was dripping with the cocoa that was once in Elesis' mouth. With a tinge of guilt, she looked away. Elesis, hardly recovered from Ara's actions that whole night, seemed to be in a daze. Both girls dared not to move or speak for a good minute.

Being the person to always take the iniative, Elesis broke the ice.

"You got my papers wet," she rasped.

"I'm… sorry. T-That was rash of me," Ara silently voiced. She stole a glance at the red-headed knight, only to see her as flustered as she is.

"Heh, that's what _I_ said," Elesis grinned and tackled Ara onto the bed. Ara was caught off-guard and tried to struggle away from the younger girl's grip. "I specifically told you not to dirty those battle notes,_ right_?" It was Ara's turn to shut her eyes and she nodded like a guilty child. "It's only befitting that a violator gets punished,_ right_?" Elesis playfully added.

Ara prepared for the worst but nothing painful came. All she heard was the sound of Elesis kicking off the soiled papers from the bed and the younger girl flopping onto the bed, next to her. "Add was right, you really could tame my flame... or at least cool off my tongue," Elesis glanced at Ara and slowly said the girl's 'punishment'.

"Your punishment is to keep me company for the night," Elesis smirked and pulled Ara closer to her.

The spear-wielder felt her heart beat faster than ever. "Are you serious?" Ara quietly asked, burying her blushing face on Elesis' shirt. "Hmm, you sound hungry for another… 'punishment'?" Elesis teased. The ebony-haired girl suddenly looked up until her pleading golden orbs met with fiery crimson ones. "Fine, fine one more," Elesis conceded. Before Ara could position their lips together again, the sword-bearer followed up a question.

"Did you ask Add out?"

"Huh?" Ara's expression changed from mellow to questioning.

"I saw you guys talk the other day… You asked him out, didn't you?" Elesis continued.

"N-no, it's not like that!"

Elesis, even though it was against her will, forcefully created an arm's length distance between them. With her free hand, Elesis grasped the older girl's shoulder. "Be honest, I won't get angry, Ara. What was that hug about?"

"I… It was a friendly hug," Ara truthfully answered. "It was a sign that Add and I would remain friends… despite the fact that I rejected him."

"Wait… you weren't the one who asked?"

"Ever since you told me that girls shouldn't be the one asking, I took your advice," she sweetly smiled. Her smile made the Grand Master's heart blaze with emotion. "So who did you really plan on asking out?" Elesis half-expected the answer to come.

"Need you ask? Who else but this muscle-head next to me?" Ara giggled lightheartedly. "Add really tried to talk me out of it. He only wanted it to become a friendly date but I knew you'd probably get…" she stopped momentarily to chuckle lightly again.

"You'd get jealous."

"I-" Elesis stared at the girl next to her. "_Am I that obvious?! Are my emotions that easy to read?_" Thinking that there was no way out of Ara's deduction, she rewarded the Sakra Devanam with her extra 'punishment'. Elesis closed the distance and lightly grazed her lips against Ara's forehead. The ebonette no longer felt embarrassed with their situation and wrapped her arms around the younger one's waist.

* * *

"Ara," Elesis muttered as she rested her head on the older girl's chest.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?"

"I just realized, we're still holding hands."

"Want to keep it like that for the rest of my 'punishment'?"

"That would be nice."

* * *

**((A/N: Well there you have it folks, my comeback fan fic after almost a year. Some parts were crammed since I wanted to make the Dec 25 mark, so I apologize. I hope this one shot did not disappoint~**

**Please rate and review! Happy Holidays!**

**~BreadCrumble out!))**


	2. Rune Festivities

**Hey again everyone. I didn't really think of making another one-shot too soon because of school but here it is! **

**I wanted to publish this yesterday but my net was freaking out. (Because the 26th is the monthsary of my first one-shot of AraEle)**

**Please enjoy! And still rated T for kind of suggestive material.**

**Just a note, I make BH's speech pattern a lot different from GM's in the first chapter.**

* * *

**Title: **Rune Festivities

**Summary: **Elesis wants to learn how to be a Rune Slayer! However, things don't go quite as planned when Ara drops by during her training.

**Character info: **Everyone's in their second path. (RS, VP, YR, BH etc) I know I like keeping things simple like that (x w x)

* * *

The Grand Library is a hub of knowledge located in the heart of Hamel Capital. It is a very befitting structure for said elegant city. Scholars, alchemists and intellectuals would flock here from all over Elrios. This library had all the up-to-date information from basic cooking to apocalyptic magic spells.

"You're going to love it here, Raven!" Chung excitedly dragged Raven to Hamel's famous library. The two were at the entrance. One was busy praising the luxurious building ahead whilst the other was looking for a way to escape back to Ruben.

The entire El Search Party was invited personally by Penensio to come over to Hamel in order to watch the annual Rune Festival. This was a yearly celebration done to commemorate the day rune casting was discovered. The main attraction of the occasion was the Special Runeworks Display. This was similar to an ordinary fireworks attraction but instead of fire, runes would explode in the sky; etching patterns in the void. Every Rune Slayer trained and currently living was required to be a performer of the said event. Elsword was no exemption to this.

In the entryway of the library, Raven wrinkled his nose in disgust. "As much as I would want to pass my time productively," Raven interrupted Chung's speech of admiration for the structure, "I would not want to be caged in a bookstall for four hours." The two had been thinking of what to do before the festival began, which was still a good several hours from now. "Awh, don't be a spoiled sport," the Deadly Chaser chided while tugging onto the Reckless Fist's sleeve, signaling the taller man to enter the building with him. Temper rising, Raven growled, "Nothing interesting ever happens in a damned library, Chung!"

"I don't get it!" A voice cried out from the second floor of the library. Both men instantly darted their eyes to the source of the shout, only to behold a giant flame wave being shot out of the window.

"I take back my word," Raven said, amused.

* * *

"Seriously, noona. Stop that already. You're not going to be a Rune Slayer that way!" yelled Elsword as he watched in horror as a certain Red Knight started setting the room on fire, literally.

"Tch, yeah right! This is just 'Fireplay' for me!" Elesis howled and produced another bolt from her hand. The girl had removed her white trench coat for even she already felt the heat rising in the room. Her muscular arms glistened with sweat from her attempts to cast a single rune. All her tries ended in naught as she continued to conjure only inelegant, powerful and explosive shots of fire.

"No! You can't master the runes in a couple of hours!" Elsword tried to restrain his sister by grabbing her shoulders but his height was not helping his cause. "You're going to burn the building down if you keep this up!"

"Bro, lemme do this," Elesis pried Elsword's hands from her. "The books said that continued exposure to fire and castin' it will make me a Rune Slayer in three hours flat!" Elesis remarked. " 'Sides, you told me earlier that there was a mighty lack of Rune boys for the gig, so lemme perform with ya," Elesis grinned. She let a wild spark of flames exit through the door, only to be extinguished by a petit mage.

"Rune casting takes years to perfect, not a meager matter of hours, Elesis," Aisha walked into the room, putting out several tiny flickers of fire that were littered inside. "You've been reading one of Denka's alchemy books which are full of cheap lies." The Void Princess eyed the Blazing Heart menacingly when she saw several charred books on the carpeted floor. "And for the record, this isn't a training room, Siegfart siblings."

Elesis chuckled, wiping her forehead which was covered in sweat from her 'training'. "Well, the inn was too cramped and the magic books are here so I'd say this is the most convenient place to practice rune slayin'," Elesis simply replied, "Besides, these books are gonna turn into firewood once they outlive their purpose."

"Noona," Elsword interrupted before the two girls would start hurling firebolts at each other. "You weren't listening. Yes, I said there aren't many Rune Slayers who turned up for this year's fest but I didn't say that we needed more people for the performance," Elsword explained.

"Same banana. You were bound to ask me sooner or later, Els," Elesis countered. She smirked, thinking that she had hit the bull's-eye. Elsword merely deadpanned her. "If ever we needed more performers, I would've ask someone better in magic like Aisha over there or maybe Ara- ow!"

"You trying to say I'm no good? I'm sorry, that was a 'Stigma of Fire' to me," Elesis grinned, the side of her mouth twitched in annoyance as she buried her elbow deeper into Elsword's side. The brother backed away from his sister's reach.

"Come on, Elsword. Lemme perfoooorm," Elesis whined like a 7-year old. Elsword groaned, but not in defeat. "Noona, like I said, Penensio has it under control. We don't need any more magic knights for the fireworks."

"Are you scared that your noona has two left feet or something?" The older redhead's voice became softer but more dangerous. Besides the change in volume, her voice became raspier. She was obviously tired from trying to rune cast.

"I-It's not that noona," Elsword averted his gaze. He glanced at Aisha who was busy muttering to herself whilst dousing some stray fires from Elesis's practice session. The younger knight crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "Why do you seem so hell-bent on being in the performance line-up?" Elesis snickered lightly as she rubbed her cheek with her index finger.

"I wanna do something sisterly for once," Elesis laughed. "For you, Elsword." Her laugh was cut short by a few wheezes.

"W-what?" The Rune Slayer could not believe what his sister had just said. He had already thought of all the possible retorts his sister could give but this was not one of them.

"I mean, I was kind of a stupid-excuse-of-a-sister for leaving you behind in Ruben when you could barely change your diapers on your own," Elesis continued; a bashful smile was plastered on her sweat-filled face. Elsword facepalmed; not liking how Aisha was giggling behind him. "I thought that maybe I can be a true noona to you if I could help you in little stuff like this. Let me make it up to you for the times I wasn't there for you. I'm here for you right now, bro," Elesis huffed in triumph before she finally concluded with, "I want you to be proud to have an older sister to rely on."

With a quick movement, Elesis was grabbing her brother's shoulders, intense crimson orbs boring through slightly surprised ones. "Let's get your Rune performance a-going!"

"Noona… " Elsword was taken aback by what he had just heard.

"_Something smells fishy,_" he thought.

"Hey noona, are you sure you're not trying to do this for someone… _else_?" Elesis froze on the spot.

"Wh-aaa? Of course, I'm doing this all for you!" She was obviously was caught off-guard by Elsword's retort.

"In all seriousness, noona, you never intensely train, nor prepare for anything, nor do you do things for free like this," Elsword frankly said. "Even if it were for me," he said a bit begrudgingly.

"What baloney are you spitting out, Els?" The Blazing Heart softened her voice, this time in a more sincere manner. Although she was sure that her voice was steady as ever, she felt cold sweat run down her face. "Oi Aisha, back me up here, you know I'd do anything for my lil' bro here," Elesis shot a glance at Aisha who just shook her head.

"You're trying to impress Ara, aren't you?" The purple-haired mage casually dropped the bomb at her.

"Leave her out of the topic!" Elesis countered, her cheeks starting to turn pink.

"Admit it, I overheard you talking to yourself in this room, about whether Ara would like to see you do this pose-" Aisha stopped to exaggeratedly flex her arm muscles, much to Elesis's embarrassment. "Or maybe this?" The purple haired mage laughed boisterously as she tried to imitate some of the Blazing Heart's stances when she was practicing earlier. Elsword started to chuckle as well but the air left his lungs as a swift chop found its way to his exposed midriff.

"O-ow. Noona, are you now trying to get me out of commission for the performance?" Elsword rubbed his stomach.

"It's bad to make up those kinds of rumors," Elesis eye-twitched at Aisha, who was unfazed.

"The whole Elrios team knows, Red Knight," the purple-haired mage remarked. "Maybe even _she_ does."

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Elesis scoffed at Aisha, unbelieving.

"Prove _what_?"

* * *

All eyes turned towards the doorway of the room. The newcomer hung onto the door jamb while wearing a questioning expression. Ara raised an eyebrow bemusedly, awaiting an answer.

An awkward silence ensued.

"Am I not worthy of an answer or is everyone just tongue-tied from my presence?" The Yama Raja hinted a suggestive tone at them. She winked subtly, unaware of how much tremors it sent up Elesis's spine.

Wanting to break the ice, the Pyro Knight spoke up.

"K-Kinda in the middle of practice for tonight's Rune Festival, Ara."

The raven-haired girl did not react to the redhead's comment. Her eyes traced the Red Knight from head, down to her exposed limbs and torso until her slightly singed boots. Elesis didn't like the feeling of being watched by the Haan descendant. For someone who rarely got embarrassed because of appearance, the Blazing Heart wanted to cover up her bare arms and stomach. The mere fact that Ara was checking her out made her stomach twist and churn.

"_Keep it together, Elsa. You got this_," the claymore bearer reassured herself and coughed to ease the silence. She closed her eyes and tried to get her thoughts arranged. After a good few seconds, her eyes flung open at the scent of a certain ebonette's perfume. Said girl was standing directly in front of the knight. Their gazes met for a second but Elesis chose to quickly glance away as she felt her face get flushed with color. Covering her mouth, she coughed awkwardly again.

"Mmm? Did you catch a cold?" the spear-wielder bent down to eye-level of the redhead. Elesis disliked situations where her height was being contested. If someone else taller than her did this act of stooping down, she would have headbutted said person as a sign of irritance. But the Blazing Heart wasn't sure why her ears were colored to a shade darker than her scarlet hair.

"_I'm just embarrassed, yeah, that's why my face feels like it's on freaking fire. Right?"_ Elesis wanted to divert her attention from Ara. Abruptly, she turned to her side.

"Really, I should go back to practicing, hey Els-"

Only two souls were currently present in the room; the amused and the flustered.

* * *

"Hm? Looks like they've left us to our own devices." The 20-year old girl chuckled silently.

"He ditched me! The nerve of that boy," Elesis double facepalmed momentarily then wiped her hands across her face to remove the dirt and sweat on it. "Tch, head feels… unusually hot," the pyro groggily commented as she felt her forehead again with her gloved hand.

"Want me to check?" Ara nonchalantly asked.

Elesis did a double-take on the girl before shrugging to show indifference, but a slow nod of approval was done afterwards. However, deep inside the redhead, she felt as if she'd set the building on fire if Ara were to touch her for even just a second. "_What the El are you thinking, Elesis Sieghart?!_" Her head felt light with these thoughts. The rising fatigue had started to cloud her judgment. Before the Red Knight could think of anything else, she felt a black-gloved hand on her right shoulder. Ara's free hand was busy brushing away the stray strands of crimson hair from the knight's forehead. Being the taller one, the ebonette had to crouch slightly to press her forehead against the redhead's. The Blazing Heart felt a rush of blood up her face from the skin contact with the Yama Raja. Sunset-yellow orbs met fiery-scarlet irises.

Elesis' heart was set ablaze. No pun intended.

The pyro wasn't sure why she felt torn between being blissful and distressed. Finding it awkward to stare directly at the girl's golden pupils, Elesis shut her own. In the darkness, a thought crossed her mind.

"_My relation with Ara_."

* * *

For Elesis, admiration was barely a word to express how she felt towards the raven-haired maiden. Being just friends didn't seem enough but being something more than that was too high a step for her. It was a position she knew that she couldn't take.

She believed that Ara deserved to be with someone who wasn't a hothead that sets things on fire at random.

"_But let me be selfish… just this once._"

The redhead wasn't content with the ebonette's soft skin lightly pressing against her forehead. Being unfamiliar with this kind of situation, the Red Knight wasn't sure of how to satiate her hunger for more. The touch of the Little Devil's hand was comforting to the Pyro Knight. The closing distance between them made the Red Knight's heart beat faster.

Unbeknownst to the knight, the hand that the spearmaiden used to sweep the knight's messy bangs away was left unchecked.

Elesis had forgotten that Ara wasn't dubbed as the "Little Devil" for nothing.

The redhead stifled a gasp when she felt that same hand on her exposed back. She felt her spine being traced upward until that treacherous hand stopped just below her vest's hem. About ten seconds passed and both girls dared not to make a move. Thinking that Ara's hand would just behave, Elesis sighed in relief.

Only for her sigh to be interrupted by an abrupt groan from herself.

Ara had slowly inserted her hand underneath Elesis's sleeveless vest. The Blazing Heart couldn't hold back another moan when she felt the Yama Raja slither her hand between the younger girl's upper garment and back. Elesis's mind was in disarray. The Red Knight felt her body shaking from the storm surge of emotions in her head. Exhaustion was catching up to her but she held on to her consciousness.

Trembling, Elesis wrapped her arms around Ara's waist, earning a light giggle from the latter. The warm breath that escaped the spearmaiden's lips grazed on the claymore wielder's own pair, causing the latter to shiver in ecstasy. Ara caught this and stopped her advances. The older girl backed away, her face twisted into a smirk when she saw the redhead and the giant streak of crimson across the girl's cheeks. Elesis stopped shaking when the contact was lost.

The younger one felt teased.

The older one seemed pleased.

"... Is somethin' wrong?" The Blazing Heart ventured, not daring to look at the Yama Raja in the eye. The knight's lip quivered.

"Ho ho~" Ara Haan simply hummed.

"Hey I'm bein' s-serious here!" Elesis felt her head get heavier by the second. She stared out the window to avoid the raven-haired girl's gaze. "_Dusk_ _already?!_" Her energy was already sapped from training and from her 'check-up' with Ara. Her weariness was clearly written all over her face. Ara could see that, but showing her weak and sincerely concerned side would shatter her relatively aloof persona. The once Little Xia's caring side was buried under a harsher exterior.

She had concealed her former anxieties and clumsiness, in the hopes of becoming a person taken seriously.

Though masked, her true self can still resurface.

Ara placed a hand on Elesis's cheek, gently tilting the girl's head to face her. She smirked when she saw the redhead's pursed lips and maddeningly scarlet face. To top it off, the knight's eyes had an indescribably adorable look on them. In totality, Elesis looked like a child who was expecting something but was promptly fooled.

An obvious pout.

"Awh, little child wants something from noona Ara?" She giggled at her own joke.

However, Elesis had no time to think of a retort. Her mind was spinning and her body was aching all-over. Her vision was darkening by the second and her limbs felt like QPL Jelly. As her legs gave way, the knight instinctively grasped for anything to break her fall. Due to her high stamina in battles, fainting was a new experience for the Blazing Heart. A light crash could be heard if one were listening from the outside of the room. Ara didn't mind at all as she gazed silently at Elesis who had fallen onto her. "So this is your answer," hummed the raven-haired girl as she tangled her fingers in crimson locks.

* * *

"Ah, you've worked too hard," The ebonette whispered into the redhead's ear. She didn't mind being under the fallen girl for almost half an hour.

"Rune Slayer or just a brutal flamethrower, I care not. You're still…"

"Shaddap," Elesis groaned in her stupor. "I did that rune trainin' for ya and this is my thanks?" she slurred as pieces of her consciousness were slowly coming back. "'Guess anyone would do stupid things… for the girl they like."

The room fell silent. Ara was on her back, staring at the girl collapsed on top of her. She quietly stroked again the flaming red mane of Elesis.

"Ironic, you're the one fallen on me… But maybe I'm the one who has fallen for you."

* * *

**((A/N: Yeah hi again! Hope you guys liked this. I had an easier time writing SD x GM tbh. I wasn't sure if I could finish this because it sat at 2000 words before and was no where near the ending. I decided to just end it with something cheesy (again)**

**Please rate and review!**

**~BreadCrumble out!))**


	3. Scar Traces

**Hello again! Yay I finally finished a fic and get to submit it at the correct time. (Yes V-Day pftt)**

**To complete the Ara x Elesis trinity, here have some Crimson Avenger x Asura fluff... or not.**

**Warning: Above statement may or may not be violated. Proceed if you dare...**

* * *

**Title: **Scar Traces

**Summary: **Peace doesn't last very long in Elrios. Elesis finds out about a new demon invasion but Ara will not allow danger to befall her beloved anymore.

**Character info: **You guys know the drill, everyone's in their 3rd path. (IS, CBS, As, CrA)

* * *

Ruben Village, also known as the Town of Beginnings, rarely experienced any disturbances. It was a quaint little town, almost isolated from the rest of Elrios. Being part of a semi-rural area, it was often considered to be an inconvenient detour for travelers and the natives take pride on this fact of infrequency.

However, there are a select few who consider this village as their solace. This minority have established their main headquarters in this town. Consider this as a nostalgic act of returning to one's start.

These known select few are dubbed as the "El Search Party".

After three long years of pursuing the El, and eventually bringing peace up to Sander, the team had decided to retire near its roots. The gang still accepted urgent missions from time to time but El seeking and being Vanessa's pawns of war had all been put behind them.

For the El Search Party, Ruben was the ideal place for building their permanent nest. Not only was it away from the busying cities like Velder and Hamel, it was also a place untainted by natural phenomena. Heat waves in summer and blizzards at winter were uncommon in these suburbs. According to scholars, Ruben never experiences snow 99.9% of the time during the cold season. This countryside almost never receives the brunt of these changes in climates.

_Almost._

* * *

"And that 0.1% had to be right now…" mumbled a half-asleep Elesis. It was a few hours past midnight. The sky was still pitch black but flecks of white were littered in the atmosphere, floating down like Cocktigle feathers.

The redhead groggily yawned. With her vision blurred from the remnants of sleep, she didn't bother raising her head to check the weather through the window. Just by the wisps of cold wind whipping against her exposed calves was more than enough to inform her that it was snowing. "_Cold,_"rubbing her eyes, she tried to locate where she had placed her blanket by aimlessly groping in the dark. Her arms were the only ones moving whilst the rest of her body remained motionless. The Dark El had truly reduced the Red Knight into a lazy lump, at least when not in battle.

Upon contact with some fabric, she instinctively cuddled onto it, in the hopes to keep warm. She snuggled deeper and buried her cheek onto said cloth. "_Warmth… how I take it for granted_," she mused, subconsciously. Elesis proceeded to rub her face onto the soft cotton fabric, only be interrupted by the textile's owner.

"My, now aren't we a bit too clingly today?"

Elesis's eyes widened at the sound of someone else's voice. Her usually half-lidded eyes grew larger by a fraction of a centimeter. All traces of sleep were gone from her muddled-golden irises as she recoiled backwards; knocking her head roughly onto her bed's headboard. The impact on the wooden frame was enough to jolt the knight from her stupor.

Shutting her eyes to get a hold of what in El's name was going on, the Crimson Avenger tried to piece her memory together. Elesis rubbed her temples, hoping to get a clear understanding of why Ara was on her bed.

What Elesis had actually grabbed onto was Ara's nightgown. What she had actually pressed onto was the latter's sizeable bosom.

* * *

Cracking an eye open, she saw the Asura – who was raised on one elbow, staring right back at her. "Good morning, Elesis," she calmly greeted the knight. Ara smiled warmly at the groggy crimsonette. The redhead groaned in response, her head still aching slightly from both physical and mental pain. She cursed inwardly, reminding herself to lock the door before sleeping. "Why are you here," Elesis flatly replied. It was more of a statement, rather than a question. The heterochromatic girl dropped her grin at the serious one's response.

"Awh, don't you find it cold during this season?" Ara sat up as she replied, combing her long hair with her fingers. The redhead collapsed back on her bed, one arm draped across her eyes. "Leave me alone," she tonelessly muttered. Regaining her upbeat mood, the Asura poked the Crimson Avenger's exposed side in the hopes to elicit a reaction. Elesis moved her bent arm upwards, giving an evil eye to Ara. Ignoring the hateful stare being shot at her, the ebonette started to run her fingers on the scarlet-haired maiden's side.

The once emotionless girl started stifling hints of chuckles.

Ara grinned at her handiwork. She continued brushing her fingertips against the other girl's waist, much to the latter's displeasure. Elesis squirmed, although not evidently, under Ara's ministrations. The younger girl gritted her teeth, preventing a held up laugh from spilling out of her mouth. The skunk-striped-haired one did the laughing for the crimsonette. Elesis had removed her arms from her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to pry the other girl's playful hands away from her.

Wanting this tickling-nightmare to end, the sharp-eyed one swiftly swiped her hand across the heterochromatic's face. Ara winced at the sudden strike, but the impact was strong enough for her upper body to reel backwards and slam onto the floor beneath. The Asura's bare legs were her only body parts still on the bed. Ara stared at the ceiling. She felt her wounded cheek; the stinging pain lingered.

"_I think I went too far_." Both girls voiced that in their heads.

Recovering from her overreaction, Elesis scoffed. "You had it coming," she monotonously stated. Ara smirked upon hearing the claymore-bearer's attempt to hide her true feelings. "I know," the ebonette replied, eyes still glued to the ceiling above. The Red Knight shot a questioning look at the Haan descendant. About a minute had passed in silence before the usually untalkative crimsonette spoke up.

"What do you want." Her voice made all of her questions sound like mere statements.

"You, of course!" Ara grinned cheerfully, still not getting up from her fallen position. She realized how silly she looked when proclaiming to Elesis that. The redhead simply stared, she looked unaffected by how Ara flirted with her constantly but her inner conscience feels otherwise.

The older girl had been trying to get the younger one's attention since they met.

* * *

Just then, a thought crossed the 20-year old's mind and she inwardly chuckled at her plan.

"Help me up, would you?" Ara asked innocently as she kicked her feet in the air like a kid.

Elesis eyed the girl's legs, noting how (unsurprisingly) childish the older girl was acting at this hour. Back before Elesis had absorbed the Dark El, the redhead would've instantly squealed in delight at Ara's mannerisms.

When Shade, her Dark El Avatar had come into her life, her current personality was born.

Nonetheless, she silently extended her arm towards the ebonette.

Without missing a beat, Ara grasped onto Elesis's outstretched hand and pulled herself up but didn't stop halfway. With a wolfish grin on her face, she forcefully pinned the Dark Knight against the headboard. The Asura firmly placed her hands against the wooden edges of the board, preventing any means of escape for the Crimson Avenger. Half-lidded eyes were now as wide as dinner plates at this rapid pacing of events. The redhead's mouth hung open in shock, much to the ebonette's delight. A slight tinge of pink graced the pale cheeks of the knight.

"Thanks for the boost," Ara cheekily smiled, showing her fangs. Elesis was keeping her face jaded but the close proximity with the other girl was not helping her cause. Her murky golden orbs, once fiery crimson, grew even wider when she felt their noses touching. The knight's mind was thrown in disarray at all that was happening. Elesis could have sworn that she saw an illusion of a white fox tail whipping happily. Eun was really rubbing off on Ara.

"Noona! Are you up yet?"

Brought back to reality, Elesis roughly shoved Ara aside. A high-pitched "Yelp!" was heard from the ebonette as she tumbled to the other side of the bed. Elsword knocked loudly on his sister's door. "I'm coming in, noona," he had already opened the door when he had said this.

"At least he knocks," Elesis glared at Ara who was holding her arms in the air as a sign of defeat.

"Umm, didn't you tell her?" The Infinity Sword asked the Asura.

"I told her that we'd make-out before you guys left, but I don't think she was read-"

"Too much information!" Elsword nearly screamed. He had to keep it down because half of the El Search Party was still in slumber-land. An annoyed Elesis grabbed Ara's arm and held it behind her back. "O-okay! I give! Don't be rough on me, E-Elesiiiiis," the heterochromatic whimpered. "Get serious, unless you want to leave this room with only one arm," the crimsonette threatened. "What do you want to tell me."

Ara sighed dejectedly. Before Ara could say anything, Elsword coughed, trying to ease the tension by delivering his news. "There are recent traces about Scar."

"… the coward demon general?" Of all the possible things she would hear from her brother, this was something Elesis wasn't prepared to hear.

"Yes, the one that attacked us here in Ruben, years back," Elsword continued. "He was sighted in the outskirts of Sander, somewhere beyond the Behemoth Crater where we finished off Karis."

"So he's still alive…" Elesis stared meaningfully at her younger brother. Their relationship as siblings had been strained ever since Elsword found out that his sister easily accepted a dark force in exchange for enormous power. His image of a caring and warm older sister was shattered completely. They barely exchanged any words back when they reunited. Although Elsword had been trying to patch things up, Elesis didn't seem to reciprocate. It's as if the Dark El had turned the girl into a killer machine, unable to feel anything.

"I heard this news from Penensio and other Sander garrisons positioned outside the desert. They're probably fighting that guy right now," the spiky-haired redhead stated. "I was thinking… we can end it once and for all?"

"Elsword," Ara interrupted. "I know this is something you guys want to settle but how sure are you that it's really him? It might be some other demon that just looks like him or something along those lines."

"Scar or not, it's still a demon," the Crimson Avenger interjected. Her tone was sullen and unforgiving. "I will rid all of those pests." Ara stared in worriedly at Elesis, shaking her head at every word that the crimsonette had said.

"You can't!" Ara pleaded, but she felt small under Elesis's glare.

"You are aware that I'm making an exception to you, Ara," Elesis darkly said. "Had you not been a long-time teammate, I would have destroyed you along with that demon spirit of yours."

"Eun is not a demon!" The Asura defended. It was a fact that Eun had demonic origins but her spirit was a good-natured one. It took some time for Elesis to accept this fact and not have murderous intentions towards the fox spectre.

Just merely speaking about demons could make the once silent girl into a resentful and glowering knight. Demons were a berserk button for her.

"Noona, we leave today," Elsword placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. He gave a light squeeze on it. Understanding that getting heated up over something like this was not going to help and after a few seconds, the Red Knight had calmed down. "I'll wait for you downstairs, noona. If we leave before sunrise, we can get to Sander by tomorrow afternoon." These were the Infinity Sword's final words before he left the room.

An awkward silence continued.

Figures, death threats weren't the best things to use in prolonging conversations.

* * *

"Calmed down yet?" Ara ventured quietly.

"… I'm leaving." Elesis muttered under her breath.

"I'll come along. You'll need all the help-"

"No," the younger girl faced Ara. "This is our fight." Choosing her words again, she continued, "And by 'our fight', I mean mine and Elsword's." With a tone of finality, she added: "You stay out of it."

"But I-"

Irritated, Elesis got up and planted her feet firmly on the floor. She stomped once before staring back at the Asura, who was sitting upright on her bed. "You couldn't even tell me honestly that Scar was sighted. You just waltzed into my room, slept with me for a few minutes and wouldn't let me know about what Elsword was going to tell me. You knew all along and were planning to mask this information from me." Elesis gritted her teeth after she had finished. "Selfish," the redhead stormed out of her room, leaving the ebonette behind.

"That's not what I was going to tell you…" Ara whimpered and let a tear slide from her crimson-tinted eye.

"_I… love you_."

* * *

Outside, Elesis punched the stone wall adjacent to her room.

"_Why did I have to tell her that?_" She asked herself as she silently stared at her wounded hand.

"Pathetic… I'm pathetic."

* * *

It was still relatively dark when the Sieghart siblings were ready to embark on another journey. Food, clothing, maps and mounts were all ready and prepared for them by Rena the other day. Chung and Raven had left them some grenades and ammunition, in case their swords were going to be futile in battle.

"The place is called Lanox," Eve was awake at this dark hour of dawn and was instructing both redheads. They were at the wide foyer of the El Search Team's mansion. "According to my research, the volcanic energy produced by the igneous meteorites found in the craters of the town is what causes the arousal of demonic activity in the vicinity."

"Enough with the jargon and get to the part how we can find Scar!" Elsword reasoned.

"Hmph, humans have no sense of value for such intricate information." Eve said, feigning offense since Nasods were naturally emotionless beings. "Demons usually cluster in groups; the leader is always at the heart of those hordes."

"Alright, so we just bust our way through!" Elsword shot his hand in the air. Elesis nodded silently in agreement.

"Do what you want," Eve massaged her temples at Elsword's actions. "Are you sure it's just the two of you who's going?"

"Yeah. It's me and noona's fight. We don't want to drag the team into our business."

"Really? Then explain how Eun's puppet is here?" Eve pointed at behind them. Both redheads turned.

Elesis scowled when she saw the familiar skunk-striped haired girl. The Red Knight had not forgotten what she said back in her room, but a tinge of guilt had slightly struck upon her.

"You know what; I'll go get the mounts ready for our mission, noona," Elsword made his way to the front door and shut it behind him.

"Agreed, I shall be taking my leave and retire back to my solace…" the Battle Seraph commented before interjecting, "…To give you two some privacy."

Only the two girls were left at the foyer. The sun was rising, signaling that day was near.

* * *

Ara shifted uneasily at Elesis's icy stare. This was ironic due to the Red Knight being a once fiery and passionate person. Seeing that a staring contest will not do any good, the fox maiden spoke up.

"I'm going with you two," Ara started but wasn't able to finish when she felt the knight's strong grip upon her left wrist. This was the same arm that was forcefully locked behind her back by the same girl. Ara was unfazed, but her own arm trembled as if it recalled what had happened and didn't want to be hurt again. Elesis caught this and softened her grip. Seeing that that arm wouldn't keep still, the redhead slid her fingers down the captured wrist until she brushed against Ara's fingertips and held her there.

"Don't even bother," Elesis glanced at their linked hands.

"No, don't say that. It's no problem for me," Ara averted her gaze to her fingers that were tangled around Elesis's.

The Crimson Avenger sighed deeply. "Why are you so keen on stopping me? This is _my_ mission," Elesis clenched her free hand tightly. The Asura could see that and closed the distance between them. There was still a respectable one foot-gap between them but it was close enough for Ara lean in and whisper into Elesis's ear.

"I'll miss you."

"… I will too."

Haan's final descendant couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Y-you mean that?" Ara was cut-off midsentence as she was pulled to an awkward embrace. Elesis gripped tighter onto the other girl's hand; if she didn't regulate her strength, she could break a bone or two. Her free hand relaxed and Elesis used it to wrap it around the taller girl's waist.

"Yes, I can't convey it properly through my tone but… " The claymore-wielder held onto the spear-maiden's waist as if it were her life-source. "I will also feel empty, perhaps even emptier if I don't see you. I can't let you go with me, you could get killed and I…" Frustrated at how uncaring she sounded, Elesis gushed out one last sentence, hoping that some emotion would finally surface from her.

"I care about you, Ara."

The older girl wasn't expecting this flat out confession. Her original plan was just to forcefully join their travel to Lanox but in two minutes flat, Elesis was able to turn this encounter by 360 degrees.

"You really mean that?" the Asura asked again.

"I don't like repeating what I say," the Crimson Avenger mumbled. "You should know tha-"

It was Elesis's turn to be interrupted. She felt the grip of the other girl become stronger and before she knew it, a pair of lips had assaulted her own. It was quick and not messy, barely lasting three seconds. Unable to register what had happened, she just stared bewilderedly at the older girl. Ara giggled like a child and relaxed her hold on Elesis's hand.

"That's my goodbye kiss to you," Ara explained while a ghost of a smile played on her lips. "Couples do it before one of them leaves home,"

Elesis decided to keep silent and just nodded, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up her face. She let go of Ara's hand, noting how the absence of her beloved's touch made her own hand go cold. Turning, she made her way to the main door, feeling the cold knob, and watched from the back of her head at how Ara was following her.

"Can we exchange hair ribbons?" Ara asked, tugging onto Elesis's crimson scrap of cloth that was dangling loosely on her hair. The Crimson Avenger stared back at the Asura's gaze and undid her own pony tail. "I… don't see the significance of this," Elesis started as she handed the torn-up fabric to Ara. In turn, the spear-wielder tied her silk hair bow to the younger girl.

Ara chuckled, "Just promise me to come back safely and return that to me."

Elesis nodded again and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth on the silk. "I don't keep promises often." The Red Knight said and opened the door, allowing rays of light to pass through. Snapping back from her reverie, she turned to face the raven-haired maiden.

Ara could've sworn that Elesis's eyes were back to its original fiery crimson color. Or maybe it was just thanks to the light brought by the break of dawn.

"But, you can count on that," Elesis faintly smiled.

That was her first and last promise to Ara.

* * *

**((A/N: Note, this isn't a cliffhanger...**

**I... just can't see CrA and Asura being all "happy-happy" because of what they've gone through. XD**

**Grand Master x Sakra Devanam is still easiest and most fun to write... I'll most likely continue writing more about them. :3**

**Note: This series will not die (evil laugh here) until KoG does something that'll make AraElesis un-canon or something.**

**Please rate and review! Happy Valentines Day, everyone~**

**~BreadCrumble out!))**


	4. April Fools' Day

**BreadCrumble is back! (oh good lords please don't murder me for the update-less March). I was busy getting the Reaper Title for my Yama Raja in ElsPH and I also started an Elsword RP-blog (yes a YR one).**

**So it's April 1 and I regret not writing for White Day. I already had half a chapter for March 15 supposedly but this April Fools' fic sprung in my head after a few days. Oh well.  
**

**As I've said in the past chapters, please enjoy story and drop a review if you have the time.**

**Rated T for slight swearing and... many things can happen between YR x BH.**

**This is probably the longest one-shot I've ever written (and will ever write).**

* * *

**Summary:** Ara is on a pranking spree on her comrades. When her beloved redhead knight arrives in the scene, she doesn't expect the tables to turn against her.

**Reading guide**: **Point of View = **Ara's / First person throughout the whole story

Italics = Ara's thoughts.  
Normal = narrations and everything else.

**Character info: **Everyone's on their second path (RS, VP, YR, BH etc.)

* * *

"Hey Ara! We're here already!"

The first day of the month of April was a sunny day. I peered out the window from the second floor of the Haan Family Shrine. It would have been a peaceful day as well, if not for the rowdy shouts made by the three boys outside, waiting for someone to let them in. I giggled as I saw Add kick a nearby tree, which eventually led him to scream in pain from the recoil damage.

"Gahd, what's taking that slowpoke so long? I had to wake up at freaking dawn just to get ready for this!" complained Add as he rubbed his foot. _Typical of him._ "Calm down, kiddo." Raven said while giving the light lavender-haired boy a slight smack on the head. "You do know that Ara can kite you down at a speed faster than a cheetah, so I'd suggest you take that back."

I knew Raven wasn't in the mood to travel all the way to Fahrmaan during springtime. However, a certain ebonette (none other than myself), had persuaded them to come over to my hometown in order to relax and enjoy the view from its peak. Chung laughed light-heartedly and patted the Nasod fanatic. "Well I myself don't want to go out here," The Shooting Guardian openly voiced his thoughts to them, "I mean it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's an excuse not to go on missions so why n-"

"Who are you calling a slowpoke?" I already arrived in front of the gate, unlatching the lock. I calmly smiled at the ponytailed blonde. Chung's eyes were wide with surprise, and all confidence he had earlier was sapped away. I then stared at Add and raised an eyebrow. He eventually grunted as a greeting.

I uttered a welcoming remark to Raven, and he returned it with a curt nod. By now, Chung had recovered from his shock and also gave me a hello. After letting them in to the wide porch and locking the gate, I led them in to the entrance of the main shrine itself.

* * *

The Haan Shrine, which also functions as my current ancestral home, was recently restored after all that had happened in Hamel. When peace had been brought back in the majority of the Capital, I requested for a temporary leave from the El Search Party a few weeks ago. I wanted to revisit my homeland and pay my proper respects to my family and fallen countrymen.

I haven't returned home since my brother's attack on the village.

I was then greeted by this surprise. Fahrmann was bustling with life… well at least not the demon-kind of life forms. Instead of smoldering ruins and the acrid smell of burnt corpses, I encountered living and breathing people. Most of them congregated at where my family's shrine was. There were builders and workers reconstructing my family's age-long temple.

At first, I didn't know how to pay for this refurbishment. I approached the foreman of this project and expressed my gratitude to them. When I mentioned about my financial predicament, he waved it off and said they were already paid beforehand.

"Why, I believe the one who paid for this was from Velder," replied the foreman when I asked him who would bother paying for all this rehabilitation. "Yeah, came as an order from a flaming Velder knight. 'Said she wanted to repay you for your services or somethin'," he continued shouting orders to his co-workers, telling them to pick up the pace.

I tuned out all of his commands, all the heavy construction going on, and just thought of _her_. A feeling of admiration swelled in my heart.

_Elesis…_

* * *

Looks like I just went down memory lane. _Great_. Getting my act together, I gave them the cheekiest smile I could muster and opened the main door to my ancestral home.

_They'll never see this coming_. I thought this while letting them into the foyer. "Oh, please remove your footwear. It's to preserve the wooden flooring," I added.

The boys complied."We'll just make ourselves at hom-" Chung let out a high-pitched scream wherein one can mistake it for a girl's voice.

_Unidentified_ Ancient Fossils. Tiny _Unidentified_ Ancient Fossils were scattered all over the foyer.

"Ara, what the El-" Chung said between grunts as he attempted to pull out the fossils that seemed to be stuck on the instep of his foot. They probably felt like pinpricks all over his right foot. He _truly_ did not see this coming. "Why won't it come off?!" he shouted again, this time, bouncing only on one leg. The three of us who remained at the doorstep laughed in amusement at the blonde's plight. To top it off, there was a thick coating of natural sap on each stone.

Judging from the amount I placed on each, it would take at least 5 days for the glue to wear off.

"You should have looked before you leapt," I started to say as I continued to suppress another giggle with the other two boys - who were putting the scattered fossils away to prevent any more accidents. "April Fools', Chung." I said and smiled amusedly as I led the boys to the guest room on the third floor. Chung was limping behind us, muttering about getting back at me.

_I'd like to see you try._

"You may want to use a Fossil Reader on that," Add didn't bother hiding his amusement. The Deadly Chaser growled inwardly when his strength cannot even pull the treacherous fossil piece away.

"Yeah right, wouldn't want a Hameling mount stuck to my foot."

"This day never ceases to amaze me," the Reckless Fist commented upon entering said guest room.

As I opened the door leading the guest room, the men's eyes fell to the center of the room. The three founding members of the search party were there. Aisha and Elsword were seated next to each other, and the two just gave a synchronized death stare at the newcomers.

_Time to attend to something else… far more important._

* * *

"You guys look adorable as hell," taunted Add and had another laughing outburst. "Shut up!" Elsword shot back, and stood up to face Add. In turn, this caused Aisha to forcibly stand as well.

"Elbrat, you have to stop with these impulsive actions of yours. You'll get us murdered by the end of this visit," the purple-haired mage sighed, pointing at her right index finger with her free hand. The two were stuck together with some oriental looking finger-trap.

"Ah sorry, Aisha," Elsword quickly replied in embarrassment.

"Whatever," groaned the Void Princess, "This has got to be the worst day ever."

"How did this happen?" Raven asked, quite puzzled since Aisha was a relatively careful person.

"We'll explain if you promise not to laugh," the Rune Slayer replied and glared at Add.

"Alright," Chung said but he himself was having a hard time concealing hints of laughter.

The two teens groaned but yielded. Aisha started to speak, "We came here a little after sunrise. Elsword brought his play stick-."

"Greatsword," grumbled the knight.

"Same thing," Aisha continued, "We were minding our own business, since I was busy reading a magical tome," she glanced at the book that Rena was holding, "Then she, I mean Ara, caught us off guard and latched this piece of Phoru crap on our pointers." Elsword interrupted and held up his left index finger which was tightly secured to Aisha's digit.

"Hah, tough life for you," Add smirked as sipped on some tea that was in the room, "I do feel sorry for Ms. Purple there though," he said after gulping down the drink.

"Hmph, why thank you, Add," Aisha replied sarcastically, but gaped when she saw what had happened to the dynamo wielder. "Add?!" Elsword darted a bewildered look at where Aisha was staring. The change of her tone caught the others' attention. Add clutched his stomach and ran out of the room. The whole room fell silent.

Rena stared at the tray, picked up one of the cups, and took a whiff of the liquid inside. "Eww, there are laxatives spiked in these drinks," remarked the elf and held the glassware away. The smell was so strong that even she felt her eyes water a bit.

"Wow, Add got pranked," Chung nonchalantly remarked. He sat down beside the wall, rubbing his aching foot. "Hey Els, why don't you try cutting that paper trap on your fingers?"

"I suggested that," the elf shrugged, "but they were afraid that I might slice off both their indexes if I did so."

"Or perhaps you and Aisha just wanted to be toge-" Chung felt a hand push against his mouth, causing him to quiet down.

"Ara sure is on a pranking spree," Elsword continued to push his free hand against the blonde boy.

"She could be quite the witty vixen," Raven interjected.

"It's the first of April, and I can tell something bad's going to happen," Aisha said.

Add rushed back in. He once took pride on how he never broke a sweat in battle. But now it seemed as if he bathe in his own sweat. He had an exasperated look. "I'll kill that bitch!" he cursed but the group just laughed.

"Seems like you just answered Nature's Call," Rena quipped. Another flurry of snickers was heard.

"You had better can it, or I'll break your legs off," the MasterMind retorted. Add then felt a familiar glass being shoved to his lips. The drugged tea was forcibly chugged down the scientist's throat. Add could not pry away from Raven's strong nasod arm.

"Talk dirty to Rena again and I'll shove a goddamn pitcher's worth of that down your mouth," Raven threatened. The nasod researcher was forced to swallow up the liquid forced into him. A few seconds later, and he retreated back to the comfort room.

The ebony-haired man sighed. "What a nuisance…"

"Is something bothering you, Raven?" Rena sweetly asked, loping her arm around the mercenary's mechanical limb.

"Yeah, where's Ara?"

* * *

_It's already sunset, but why isn't she here yet? _

_Oho~ you're impatient to see her?_

_Shut up, Eun._

I blocked out all of Eun's telepathy lines and just stared at the golden setting horizon. I waited on a branch of a tree; the same tree that Add had kicked earlier. Balancing was second nature to me, plus there was a decent view of the village's entryway from here. Seated, I rested my back against the wooden trunk. I could see if she was coming, or not. The second option seemed more likely. I sighed and shut my eyes to rest for a bit.

The sudden crunching of dried leaves on the pathway perked my attention.

_Wait. Those footsteps… could they be?_

I snapped my eyes open and squinted. I even stood up to get a better view of the road ahead. The sun's orange rays seemed to be bidding farewell as they set in the distance. The path leading to the shrine was empty. My heart sank.

"Down here," a voice called out.

I trailed my gaze to the source. Her crimson hair was tied up; the wind was playing with her messy ponytail. She was clad in her usual Blazing Heart outfit, and her singed trench coat gave off some sort of proud radiance. All that was missing was her claymore, but she still looked valiant and emitted a warrior's confidence. I smiled slightly at her and she returned it with the same warmness.

"You look like an uncouth knight, as usual," I commented from above.

"Sure, and today you're wearing orange pant-" I threw an El Tree seed at her face.

"Peeping toms should be punished," I smiled at her again whilst giving off a killer aura.

"You were standin' up! Of course anyone below woulda've seen it," she casually replied, a hint of irritation was on her voice. "Come on, I'm here already," Elesis coaxed, "Won't you let me in your praise-worthy family temple, O Haan's Greatest Descendant?"

"Now you're being sarcastic," I puffed my cheeks in annoyance, "I can stay on this tree all night long and won't have to bother with you," I quickly added. I was lying behind my teeth.

_I just want to spend time with you._

I watched as she tried to pick the lock on the gate. Obviously, only Rena had the skill to do such. Defeated, she leaned on the iron grills of the main gate and stared at me. I returned her glare with a defiant glance.

"You're going to lose your balance from standing up there," she remarked. Elesis yawned, but I pretended not to hear her amused giggle afterwards. "As if! I'm second to no one in balancing," I smartly replied.

"As _if_," she mock-copied my response. I stomped impatiently at her remark.

And that was the biggest mistake I made.

I felt my heel brush against the branch awkwardly. _Great job, stick heels. _My left leg felt the absence of footing and I felt my weight press down upon me. I swung my arms rapidly, trying to regain balance again, but to no avail. I shut my eyes and braced myself. I was ten feet off the ground and would most likely not come out of this fall without a broken limb or two.

Or so I thought.

* * *

"You are the biggest idiot I have ever seen," Elesis gave my shoulder a light squeeze. _Wait how is she able to…?_

My eyes flung open at the sound of her voice. She was standing up, erect like a knight from battle. On the other hand, she eyed me disapprovingly. She stared at me like that for a few moments until she allowed a laugh to pour out of her lips.

"You're actually lighter than I thought," she laughed loudly. I only realized now that she was cradling me in her arms. I kicked the air like a child, wanting her to put me down. I felt as if my ears were on fire from this experience. I could feel her warm touch against the fabric of my clothes. My heart was beating erratically, and I worry that Elesis could hear it. I mean, I can practically hear her strong heart beat against my side from this close proximity! _Can this dense nut-head put me down yet?!_

This was embarrassing beyond compare, and bolting off like a baby Phoru seemed like a good option.

Elesis readjusted her hold on me and held me even closer. _Oh El Gods, she knows._ I fidgeted even more and tried to keep my face stoic. I could feel my heart wanting to leap out of my mouth at how she was practically carrying me bridal-style. _I can't take this anymore!_ I was about to open my mouth to protest, only to be interrupted by myself.

A thunder-clap roared through the peak, catching me by surprise.

Instead of my original plan of jumping off, I automatically clung onto Elesis's shoulders.

"Erm…?" my redhead companion voiced out suddenly. I snapped back to reality, realizing how hard I was clutching onto her. My chin was resting on the crook of her neck and I could feel her warm breath on my ear.

"I felt a raindrop," she said against my skin, "Spring shower's upon us."

As if on cue, the rain started to pour relentlessly on us. There were no more traces of sunlight at all. I stared, wide-eyed at Elesis. "Any plans on opening the gate now?" she huffed edgily. I noted how her upper body was arched over mine, effectively shielding me from the downpour. Without a second thought, I scrambled out of her grasp. I didn't expect her to grab my arm when I had planted my feet to the ground.

"What?"

"Hang on," Elesis removed her white longcoat and draped it over both of us. She then tugged me closer to her side, in order to cover me better. I gasped a bit when I felt her gloved hand against my bare shoulder. Shaking any thoughts out of my head, I proceeded to unlock the tall iron gate in front of us. The sky darkened quicker than usual. Upon unlocking the gate, we dashed in sync towards the door; our steps making splashing sounds because of the puddles around us. Due to my naturally swift speed, I had to fall a few steps behind to match her pace.

"Finally," I heard her mutter when we had arrived at the shaded doorstep.

I turned to face her; she wasn't grinning. She seemed annoyed at how we were drenched to the bone. Figures, flame idiots don't like getting wet.

_Smile for me, you musclehead! _

I roughly pulled her coat over our heads, which consequently led to messing up both of our hair. Her sopping crimson mane became wilder than before. Her ponytail was undone and her fringe stuck to her forehead. She reminded me of her brother, and I chuckled at the thought.

"Blazing Fart, you got us into this mess. You're sleeping outside."

Her lips twitched with annoyance as she ignored my humor. "Very well," she said as she walked past me. Elesis opened the door and let herself in. It took me a few seconds for all this to sink in.

_Did I make her angry?_

"Did I interrupt your intimate interactions?" a robotic voice rung through.

I turned around and stared at the latecomer. Plastering a smirk on my face I said, "You really know when to kill the moment, Eve."

* * *

The night seemed to drag on. To get my mind preoccupied, I promptly pulled a practical joke on the Nasod Queen by brushing my fur collar against her shoulder. Long and complicated story short, her shoulders rusted up in a matter of seconds due to the water content.

For one, I had confirmed that Eve was 100% robot.

The whole night went on filled with laughs, sneers and merriment. I had the whole Elrios Team stay at the large guest room on the top floor. Most of the fooled ones ended up taking on my idea of celebrating April Fools' by also pranking others. But, being the master at these kinds of things, they had failed to pull any impending jokes or traps on me. I passed the night by just listening to the pitter-patter sounds of the falling rain on the roof. And maybe a little bit of reflecting.

From farting cushions to pepper flaked meats, Elsword has the longest track record of being pranked. Aisha and Add seemed to have teamed up on trying to fool Raven. He may be referred to as the 'Reckless Fist', but he's far from it. He's actually careful and his senses are very acute. Rena was acting as the mother of the group and didn't join in these childish games. She merely oversaw to it that the others weren't trying to kill each other. Chung was talking to Elsword or Raven from time-to-time. He avoided standing up because of his (literally) Achilles' heel. Eve severed any contact with us humans and just observed.

Satisfied by my own analysis of my own comrades, I decided to do my final prank on them.

Eying the hourglass on the table, I noted when the final grain on the top side fell to the bottom. That signaled that it was midnight already. Getting up on the dot, I had made sure that all the windows were shut tight and were imbued with my sealing magic. It's a Haan Family specialty, so it's unlikely that even Aisha could break said spell. I put my plan into action.

It was a simple joke, really.

To conclude my pranking spree, I slipped away from the room (again) and promptly locked the door from the outside.

I snickered to myself and casted a quick binding spell on the door as well. Pleased with my handiwork, I turned my heel to go back to my own room and rest.

Whether or not they noticed my practical joke was beyond my comprehension. The next thing I knew, I was face-to-face with a certain redhead knight.

_So much for my ultimate prank._

* * *

"Uhh, hi?" I squeaked as a greeting to Elesis who was right in front of me.

She stared at me, as if she was scrutinizing my actions. Her hair was still drenched. _Oh right, she took a bath. _I mused at that thought for a bit, only to erase whatever images were forming in my head.

"I'm going in," she stated and walked towards the door behind me.

"Ah! The guest area is full at the moment," I winged out an answer.

"Eh?" She gave me a bemused look. "That shouldn't be a problem," Elesis countered. "I'm just going to get my coat then sleep outside."

_So she's actually taking it seriously. Elesis did leave her coat inside and now she's wearing…_

"Why are you wearing my clothes?" I asked dumbly. Any thoughts of trying to persuade her not to sleep outside the house were pushed away. My mind blanked.

"Those are what I saw in the wash area, so I thought I could use 'em," she gave a small confident smile while flipping her long crimson hair.

I didn't realize that I was checking her out. Although she was a bit lacking in the chest area, everywhere else seemed to perfectly fit on her. How the fabric seemed to hug around her muscles well, and even though she wasn't wearing any thigh-highs, her legs didn't stand out or look awkward at all. Her gloves were her usual ones, the ones that helped her control her flames. She didn't bother tying up the ribbons along the fabric but it didn't clash that bad. Her hair was wet but combed neatly and it covered half of her back, leaving the lower half exposed.

I must have spaced out for too long because she was now rapidly waving her hand across my face.

"If you were in front of the public restroom door, people would've pissed on you by now," she casually said. I shook my head, but couldn't hide the blush creeping up my face. For the record, that blush was from her inappropriate joke.

"Oi, I don't wanna be rude but I'll be going in now," she reached for the knob with her right but I caught her hand in mid-air.

"Don't," I muttered out. "I think you took my joke too seriously," I slowly worded those out. "You can still stay indoors," I was searching for the right words in order for Elesis not to see this weak side of me.

"Call off what I said about sleeping outside," I huffed out a sigh, "Can't you tell it was a joke?"

"Yeah, thanks for the offer," she replied and crossed her arms over her chest. "But I think you said that the guest room was occupied, so I assume you have no better place for lodging than outside," she eyed me mischievously. "And if that room's full, where are _you_ spending the night?"

_I said that it was full so that you wouldn't ruin my prank, dum-dum._

I only came to a realization of her motives when I uttered this: "I can still sleep in my own room."

Her smirk grew wider and I didn't realize that our hands were still touching. "Great!" She half-cheered, and grasped onto my left; preventing any escape from her. Elesis then gave another disarming smile and pulled me away from the door. I felt my palms sweat and I tried to keep my face from reddening. Thankfully, she didn't advance to the entryway of the guest room.

Instead, she asked for directions on where my room was.

* * *

The rain would not let up. I myself didn't appreciate the wet season since it brought bad memories of my brother's assault in this very same place. Elesis's voice broke me from my trance.

"Wow, neat place you've got 'ere," she gaped as she entered my room. My bedroom was located at the second floor of the shrine. It comprised about half the whole floor so it was quite spacious. I glanced at the large hourglass in my room, noting how all the sand had piled up at the bottom. _Midnight._

Elesis dove onto my well-made bed and in a matter of seconds, made it look like a tornado had swallowed it. I took my eyes off that hyperactive redhead for just a few moments and she turns half my bed into messed up heap. "You pig, don't get carried away," I facepalmed to hide my chuckle. She didn't seem to stop. "Hey, it's been forever since I actually got to sleep on a legit bed!" I heard her chant as she fluffed up one of my pillows.

"Idiot…" I muttered and pulled a myriad of her crimson locks so that she'd stop flailing around. "It already disturbs me at how you're wearing my clothes, so do me a favor and don't mess my place up even more," I gritted my teeth when I saw her reaction.

She turned to face me and gave a cheeky grin. "I really like how you get worked up so easily," she added.

_That's it._

What followed was a deft reversal wherein I pushed her onto her back. I'd say that the impact wasn't as painful as I wanted since she's pressed against the foam of the bed. Unsatisfied, I gripped onto both her hands and held her there. Being taller did help in pinning her down and to effectively do so, I brought my right leg between hers in order to assert my dominance.

Why did I always feel so welled-up with irritation whenever she smiled?

_Because it wasn't for me._

But why do I tolerate her so much? Why do I feel this way?

_Maybe I'll find the answer now._

I kept my face jaded and stared down at her. She was flustered, all right. _Well, maybe I am a bit nervous too._ I lowered my body until it was comfortably resting against hers. I felt my stomach was against her own, but I still had my hold on her hands. Much to my delight, she reacted with a slight yelp.

"Um… Ara?" she started to voice out.

"Oh, you finally called me by my name," whether she protested or not, I did not know. I silenced any more words from her by pressing my lips against hers. I only noticed her heady scent as I deepened the kiss, wanting an entrance. Elesis resisted all the more but I kept a firm hold onto her. Slowly, I slid my bare leg upwards, against her equally exposed thighs. I felt her hands shake slightly and her body below me was trembling. _Stubborn girl, aren't you?_ I was getting frustrated with her hard-headedness and purposely lowered my chest onto hers. She gasped at that sudden contact and I took my chance of sliding my tongue into her. Our foreheads were bumping against each other, and her fringe of scarlet hair brushed against my face. I could feel her sweating, but perhaps I was as well_._ I couldn't tell since our scents had entwined together. Just when I had my knee against her crotch, I broke away for air.

Elesis was panting and her crimson eyes were dilated. I was still hovering above her face when she stared blankly at me. A trail of saliva still connected our lips. I licked my lower lip in order to wipe it away. Her face was flushed with a darker shade than her hair. I smirked at how defenseless she looked.

"What the heck," I heard her say between breaths. I hid my smirk and teased her by pressing my nose against hers.

"What was that about…" she whispered onto my lips.

"Don't you get it?" I asked her, making sure my breath grazed against her own lips. Her denseness made me all the more like her. I noted how she had stopped struggling under my grasp.

"… April Fools'," she muttered and looked away from me. I backed away upon instinct. I didn't release my grip but I unconsciously weakened it.

_Why do I feel as if I was stabbed by her claymore?_

"Yeah I get it," she continued as she slowly made eye-contact with me again. "It was all a joke. It's April the First of course," Elesis groaned in disgust.

"You got me good with your prank, Ara," she droned silently. I heard her sigh and she shut her eyes for a few moments. My mind was in disarray. _This is not the message I wanted to give her!_ I felt my heart stop at her final statement to me.

"Y-You've got a really twisted humor there," she rolled her eyes and broke away from my gaze.

I heard not a word from her afterwards. Her breathing had become steadier and more even. Her head was facing away from mine. I leaned down, only to see Elesis asleep.

A constricting thought haunted me. I sat up and backed away from her sleeping figure. I clutched my chest at this feeling. It felt like ravenous claws scraping inside me. I made my way to my desk and just stared at the mirror propped on it. I laughed bitterly.

_So this is the feeling of rejection._

I couldn't say that this is my first time to feel such. Given the past relations I've had, I can't say that I'm unfamiliar to this feeling. I knew what it felt, about being accepted or cast away.

_Was my timing off? I don't think so._

I stared morosely at the hourglass. The sand wouldn't move. They were all at the bottom piece of the wooden device.

_It's April 2. I wasn't joking around, Elesis. _

I peered at the reflection thrown at me by the mirror. I saw myself, a crazed mess with eyes welling with tears.

_Being used to rejection doesn't make the hurt any lighter._

* * *

**... I probably ate something bad. Why do I always end up writing these kinds of endings lately? XD**

**I'll admit, this was the easiest to write since I had experience to back up my imagination (shhh). You can probably tell who I was between the two girls. This was originally going to be SD x GrM but I changed it half-way through. I deemed that YR x BH seemed more appropriate (especially the pantsu shot heh).**

**If you made it this far, congratulations! Thank you for reading and have a nice (and unpranked) April Fools' day. **


	5. Peculiar Nightmares

**The update-less periods are growing longer, and I apologize. I've been trying to squeeze some writing whilst I do my Elsword dailies. And by doing so, this abomination was born! *grins***

**I will now be shuffling character classes (Imperial, Rebellion and Transform) and will challenge myself to keep them in-character. Random Number Generator has blessed us with: 1 x 2**

**And that stands for SD (1st path) x BH (2nd path)**

**Rated T for... yeah BH makes things become rated T. And please don't set me on fire for the puns.**

* * *

**Title: **Peculiar Nightmares

**Summary: **Elesis has been having recurring nightmares... but of what?

**Character info: **Elesis = Blazing Heart; Ara = Sakra Devanam

* * *

_Nights in Ruben are always peaceful._

Or so Ara thought.

A certain Sakra Devanam reassured herself with those words. Lying curled up under her sheets; Ara found it hard to sleep with the peculiar noises echoing from the neighboring room. As she pressed her back against the wooden wall, the divider shook and the shifting of bed covers could be heard. Quick curses and swearing resounded in her ears.

After a heartbeat or an hour, silence enveloped her hearing. Ara sighed in relief as the cloak of sleep tried to pull her in. Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass alerted the ebony-haired maiden. The crash caused the oriental girl to instinctively tumble away from the wall. She let out a surprised "Yelp!" as her four-foot wide bed wasn't enough a distance for her sudden roll out. The next thing she knew was her eyes were fixated on the ceiling above, and half her body was on the stone floor. A delay passed before the pain shot to her skull, as she landed head-first. Not only did her head ache from the clash onto the concrete; she had created a greater commotion than the shattering glass earlier. Hurried footsteps started and in a minute, she heard a knock resound on her door.

* * *

When it had clattered open - due to some lock-picking, Ara froze as she stared at the redhead at the entryway. Realizing how she looked like an upturned turtle, she scrambled to her feet – trying to make herself look presentable to the Blazing Heart. The moonlight provided relatively adequate lighting in the room, much to Ara's dismay as she couldn't hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. The ebony-haired maiden was only wearing a short, orange duster that clung a bit too tightly on her skin. The hem barely reached her thighs, and she felt like bolting out of the room because of the disarming smile across Elesis's face. A silence prevailed, as the ebonette was at a loss for words.

"Yo, seems like ya had a rude '_Awakening_' there," Elesis chortled, plastering on a wide Cheshire-like grin. Ara shook her head, batting away all the hints of sleep from her eyes. "Didja '_Dragon Arts_' indoors?" chuckled the Red Knight as she shut the door behind her. The spear-wielder sighed and averted her glance elsewhere. Keeping eye-contact with the fiery redhead made the spear-wielder's heart beat even faster than her Flying Kite. Smiling another toothy grin, Elesis flicked a harmless spark in Ara's direction.

When threatened, a defense mechanism for this 20-year old was to throw the nearest thing she had at hand. Unfortunately, the lucky item was her spear propped against her bedstand.

* * *

The pyrokinetic panicked at the sight of the oriental warrior grabbing her spear. "A-Ara '_Suppression_' your buns!" uttered the Blazing Heart who could see the impending danger coming. Strangely, the sound of Elesis's rough and uneven voice was able to calm the frantic Little Hsien.

"Elesis… please don't set things on fire at random," Ara sighed once more.

"There's no need to, 'cause you're pretty damn hot already," smirked Elesis as she brushed her right hand across her hair; essentially fixing her scarlet fringe into a sexier angle. The moon's light seemed to amplify the creamy color of Elesis's exposed skin. The black tank top and matching boxers that she sported left little to Ara's imagination. The spearmaiden couldn't stop herself from gaping at the real hottie in front of her.

Heat accumulated on the raven-haired girl's cheeks, but all possible replies died on her mouth as she stared at the thick, red line that ran across the back of Elesis's right hand. Worry becoming the dominant emotion, Ara closed the distance between them in a blink. She carefully took hold of the 19-year old's hand, and inspected the bleeding gash. Elesis followed Ara's fingers, noting how gentle her touch was. Normally, the sight of blood and scars made Ara feel queasy. But if these were on her friends, all fear is swallowed and the next thing one would see is their wounds bound and treated.

And this was practically the next scene that unfolded.

* * *

"So you're telling me, you knocked a vase in your sleep, and tried to pick up the broken pieces?" Ara interrogated, causing the Blazing Heart to wince at the applied pressure.

"Not so tight~," Elesis whined. Even after hearing that pained whine, the spear-wielder finished wrapping the redhead's injured right hand. "You're no fun," chided the pyro when the oriental warrior had finished her handiwork. "Don't you have any '_Flashy Wit_', Ara?" grinned the former.

"Your puns aren't funny," Ara silently interjected. "I was worried."

"Huh? Of what?" Elesis feigned ignorance.

"I heard you tossing and turning back there," continued the Sakra Devanam as she pulled a pillow to her chest. "I noticed that it's been happening more recently." Burying her face on it, Ara barely made audible her next statement. "I was scared that something happened to you."

"Stalker much?" Elesis scoffed, almost annoyed at the realization that she made such a loud ruckus earlier. Hunching, she stared at her treated hand and wondered how Ara has two rolls of gauze in her own room. "Did you have a nightmare?" Ara released her grip on the pillow, and had crawled over to where the Red Knight was slouching. Seeing this, the Blazing Heart distanced herself with discreet scoots from the approaching Sakra Devanam. Puffing her cheeks at how childish Elesis was acting, the oriental continued her advances until she was an arm's length away from the knight.

But when Ara thought she had just patted Elesis's shoulder, it was actually enough force to push down the unsuspecting redhead.

To top it off, the Little Hsien was unfamiliar of the connotations of straddling someone _in bed_.

For the first time in her life, Elesis found it hard to breathe. It wasn't just because the air she was taking in was also the same as what Ara was inhaling; but also because of the diminishing gap between their faces. Innocent sunset orbs met intense crimson ones. Hovering for a few seconds, Ara slumped onto Elesis's side, her right arm lightly draped across the scarlet maiden's waist.

The Red Knight gave a few seconds of dead time before speaking up. Her injury throbbed slightly, and her throat felt dry.

"Ara, I'll be going back now," Elesis rasped, finding the ceiling better to look at than the object of her interest.

"Maybe it would be better you stay here… I'll need to monitor your injury," Ara whispered against the claymore-bearer's shoulder. Elesis's pulse pounded on her ears erratically. The situation she was in had started to cloud her thinking. However, she reminded herself that Ara was doing this out of pure concern – and nothing more.

_"But could I make this into something more?" _mused the Pyro Knight.

Without warning, Elesis used her uninjured left hand to trap Ara between her and the treacherous wall. Once she was sure that she had the older girl's full and undivided attention, she began.

"Yeah I did," Elesis stopped to behold Ara's reaction.

"Eh…?" she obviously forgot the topic of discussion. Ara tilted her head slightly in confusion – which unconsciously shot Cupid's arrow through the Blazing Heart. "You're hopeless." Without any permission, Elesis entwined her gauzed fingers with Ara's. The Sakra Devanam let out the second yelp of the night, due to the brash warrior's other hand landing on the small of her back. Nudging ever so slightly on the girl's backside, she allowed Ara to melt into her embrace.

"I've been having nightmares..." Elesis continued whilst burying her nose against midnight locks of hair.

"Wherein I wasn't gay for you."

"Wha-"

No words could spill from Ara's mouth; as a pair of lips found their way on them. Ironic to the girl's impetuous personality, Elesis had planted a chaste kiss on Ara's confused lips. A surprised squeak barely exited from the Hsien's throat. Ignoring such, the Blazing Heart counted to ten before attempting to break away. However, she threw that idea away when the Sakra Devanam reciprocated – much to her surprise. Ara deepened the kiss all the more, but in an awkward and amateurish manner. She was careful not to accidentally squeeze the area of Elesis's gash. From a few seconds to almost a full minute, they just stayed enveloped in each other's arms.

Until Elesis had to mutter against their locked lips: "Ara, you're pushing me off the bed."

Indeed, only a fourth of Elesis's body was still on the mattress. The clumsy spear-wielder let out a slight pout at the uncalled for break away. Rolling over to face the wall, she didn't want Elesis to see her beet-red face. Climbing back to a better position, the redhead smirked upon seeing this side of Ara.

"Do you have some passive skill called 'Adorkable' or something?" Elesis teased, wrapping an arm over the raven-haired girl's hip. The other was busy combing through the long locks of charcoal-colored hair.

"Th-That was my f-first kiss," Ara mumbled, covering her shamelessly burning face.

"Was it too much of a '_Wild Shock_' for you?" yawned Elesis as she pulled the pouting girl closer.

"If you make another p-pun, I'll unleash m-my '_Heaven's Wrath'_ on you," Ara faced Elesis, nuzzling against the crook of the Blazing Heart's neck. A contented sigh escaped the Sakra Devanam's lips; her breath tickled the pyro's reddening cheek. The skin contact they shared soon calmed the once nervous Little Hsien. When Elesis was sure that her beloved had fallen asleep, she allowed an unconscious statement to slip under her breath.

"I'll love you forever, my '_Flame Rose_'."

True enough, Elesis got head-butted by a half-asleep Ara.

* * *

**((A/N: Barely 1.6k words! xD I had to make it shorter because a friend commented how my fics were too long for oneshots. I guess the past four chapters were at least twice the size of this. Still, I think I do prefer writing longer chapters since it builds some development and 'chemistry' aaaaa. (Now I'm rambling because it's almost 11 PM and I started writing this at around 5 PM).**

**Stay tuned for more? XD  
****~BreadCrumble out!))**


	6. Scarved Dates

***Drops this here for V-day* Hey it's still that in other parts of the world!**

* * *

Darkness had shaded Velder Village. Had the golden halos illuminated by the streetlamps been absent, the whole suburbs would have been blanketed in a black shade. Still, these were just flecks of yellow that could still contribute to eyestrain; should someone decide to read under said posts. Not only did it provide minimal lighting, these fire-sources did little to fend off the chilly spring air. Due to this inclement weather, many had not dared brave the outside, nor try to wear anything thinner than three layers of clothing.

"They sure are taking their time," Elesis yawned under an unlit light post. She tugged her scarf upwards as the frigid breezes refused to die down for the night. The Red Knight watched as a man in his sixties hobbled to another darkened lamp. He tiptoed, with his five-foot tall candle holder, in order to ignite the burnt-out coals of that light stand. After completing such task, he was approaching for the post that Elesis had been leaning on. She pitied him.

"Sir, let me do that," she spoke courtly with an extended hand. Not knowing that this girl was the garrison's renowned knight, he gave his make-shift torch. She expertly tipped the blue center of the flame unto the wick, causing the thread to burst aflame. Seeing that there were three more stakes to be lit, Elesis would have gone to light them up right away - had an incoming blast of energy not jolted her.

"Oh, ditching our date for community service, Elly~?" A playful voice that Elesis would recognize miles away.

"Not at all. I was merely helping while waiting for you and Add," muttered the red head as she recovered from her initial surprise. She brushed Ara off, and raised her arms again to light the next streetlamp. Unknown to her were two golden eyes following her every movement. By the time she had finished kindling the third post, a pair of hands weaved its way around the Grand Master's waist. Ara positioned her chin onto the knight's shoulder; their cheeks brushing.

"I have a lighted torch, mind you," she ignored melting into the Yama Raja's tempting embrace by handing the candle holder to the confused old man. "Well, now you don't," warm puffs of breath tickled the younger girl's ear. Sure it was relatively cold outside, but the lady-knight felt her cheeks sear in flames. The claymore-wielder's chest thundered as Ara started dragging her fingers underneath her jacket.

"Where's Add?" Reality hit her like a train upon recalling that they were in the open. Ara pouted at Elesis's resistance, but planted a quick peck at the other girl's nape as she withdrew her arms. A squeak rolled out of the recipient's mouth, causing the older girl to chuckle. "Elsword passed me a message on my way here," she shrugged in exaggeration. "He said that Dynamo Freak can't make it due to his pet cat freaking out."

"So... the meet-up's off?" Although she didn't want to sound _too _disappointed, Elesis had actually been looking forward to spending the evening with her two best friends. A simple dinner in their favorite tavern, a few drinks and lots of chatting was what she had planned. Now it just had to be crushed because of Apocalypse's codes glitching out.

"Since when did Mister Cat-astrophe dictate whether his girl-friends could go out?" Elesis slowly processed these words. As if the frosty winds had numbed her wits, any retorts died on her mouth. Whether it was the cool evening air or Ara's phrasing that caused this, she never bothered finding out. What warmed her thoughts was the hand that suddenly clasped onto hers. "Oh? Not wearing gloves at this weather?" commented the raven-haired girl. The Saber Knight feared that her pulse could be felt from her palms as the spearmaiden laced their fingers together. Thankfully, a response managed to roll off her tongue.

"Says the girl in a dress," a marvelous reply.

"You're adorable, Elesis," a purr rumbled from the taller girl. "Still, I've heard better comebacks from Raven in his sleep."

"C-Can we just go already?" stuttered the blushing girl. Seeing that the younger girl couldn't be any redder than her hair, Ara unwrapped a good portion of Elesis's scarf and slung it over her own shoulders. A teasing shoulder bumped against tense ones. Locked hands were not missing from the scene as well.

"Lead the way."

* * *

**((A/N: I'm considering on making this a three-part-one-shot (what). Yes, it'll include the other job classes of Elesis and Ara. Think of it as one whole story, but in different perspectives of those classes.**

**Up next: Blazing Heart x Asura)) **


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